Parallel Chords: an audio-visual analytics design for parallel coordinates.

Unlabelled: One of the commonly used visualization techniques for multivariate data is the parallel coordinates plot. It provides users with a visual overview of multivariate data and the possibility to interactively explore it. While pattern recognition is a strength of the human visual system, it is also a strength of the auditory system.

Classic Vocal Performance Training Through C-VaC Method: Study of Core Muscle Stability Warm-Up Techniques via Computer-Aided Analysis.

Vocal warm-up is essential for achieving optimal vocal performance; however, traditional methods often neglect the role of core muscle stability. This study presents the Combined Vocal and Core Muscle Stability Warm-Up Method (C-VaC), which integrates core stability training with vocal exercises to improve vocal performance. The effectiveness of the C-VaC method was assessed among soprano majors at various stages using computer-assisted audio analysis for objective measurement.

An experimental approach for comparing the influence of cello string type on bowed attack response.

This study investigates the influence of string properties on bowed string attack playability. To assess the attack playability of different string types, a variety of bow forces and bow accelerations were chosen to excite the strings and measure the transient response under different bowing control parameters. The experimentally obtained playability maps of transient duration as function of bow force and acceleration (Guettler diagram) were obtained with a robotic bowing machine, from four different types of cello G2 strings.

Clutch attendance and call parameters are linked to mating success in a glassfrog with paternal care.

Females of some species improve their reproductive success not only by being choosy and selecting males with certain traits, but also by sequentially mating with multiple males within one reproductive season. However, it is relatively unknown whether females also evaluate parental care during mate choice and, if they do, whether males actively communicate their care status to approaching females. We monitored a natural population of the glassfrog , a species with sequential polyandry and paternal care, to assess the role of parental care and advertisement calling on male mating success.

Elasto-plastic friction modeling toward reconstructing measured bowed-string transients.

Physical modeling may be used to simulate the motion of a vibrating string under frictional excitation by a bow. This study compares the measured transient behavior of a bowed string with predictions from a physics-based simulation that assumes a finite-width bow, incorporates bow-hair compliance, considers the string's torsional motion, and utilizes an elasto-plastic friction model. The model is first evaluated by comparing simulated Guettler playability diagrams to a measured diagram obtained from a robot arm bowing a monochord.

Music Therapists' Job Satisfaction and Related Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Five European Countries and Israel.

Studies on the job satisfaction of music therapists are needed for the growth of the profession and their findings may help to improve the well-being of practitioners. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to explore the levels of satisfaction of music therapists with their profession and to identify the factors influencing their job satisfaction in several countries where this topic is under researched (Israel, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Austria). Descriptive and inferential statistics of data obtained through an online survey of 439 practicing music therapists found the highest levels of job satisfaction were reported in Spain and the lowest levels were reported in Germany.

Odor cues rather than personality affect tadpole deposition in a neotropical poison frog.

Animals constantly need to evaluate available external and internal information to make appropriate decisions. Identifying, assessing, and acting on relevant cues in contexts such as mate choice, intra-sexual competition, and parental care is particularly important for optimizing individual reproductive success. Several factors can influence decision-making, such as external environmental cues and the animal's own internal state, yet, we have limited knowledge on how animals integrate available information.

Odor cues rather than personality affect tadpole deposition in a neotropical poison frog.

Animals constantly need to evaluate available external and internal information to make appropriate decisions. Identifying, assessing, and acting on relevant cues in contexts such as mate choice, intra-sexual competition, and parental care is particularly important for optimizing individual reproductive success. Several factors can influence decision-making, such as external environmental cues and the animal's own internal state, yet, we have limited knowledge on how animals integrate available information.

Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report.

Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness.

Physics-based playability maps for single-reed woodwind instruments.

Musical instrument playability can be analyzed by visualizing a subspace defined by musicians' control parameters. This is common for bowed-string instruments in the form of Schelleng diagrams. Such diagrams can be populated either through experimental measurements or physical modeling.

Effect of Expiratory Muscle Strength Training on the Performance of Professional Male Trumpet Players.

Background: Many trumpet players use breathing training devices in addition to their daily practice routine. Playing a brass instrument requires, besides many other skills, a controlled air stream to generate the necessary air pressures. On the trumpet, high intraoral pressures are needed, especially during high and loud notes.

Intra-articular injection of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (mesenchymal stem cells) in KL grade III and IV knee osteoarthritis: 4 year results of 37 knees.

Cell based therapies are increasingly used and results of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) show encouraging short- to middle term results, superior to hyaluronic acid and platelet rich plasma (PRP). Most studies describe patients with mild to moderate arthritis and results of patients with KL III and IV osteoarthritis of the knee are limited to short term evaluations. Hence, the aim of this prospective study was to investigate the mid-term outcome of BMAC injections in patients with severe osteoarthritis of the knee.

Body motion of choral singers.

Recent investigations on music performances have shown the relevance of singers' body motion for pedagogical as well as performance purposes. However, little is known about how the perception of voice-matching or task complexity affects choristers' body motion during ensemble singing. This study focussed on the body motion of choral singers who perform in duo along with a pre-recorded tune presented over a loudspeaker.

Towards a unified terminology for sonification and visualization.

Both sonification and visualization convey information about data by effectively using our human perceptual system, but their ways to transform the data differ. Over the past 30 years, the sonification community has demanded a holistic perspective on data representation, including audio-visual analysis, several times. A design theory of audio-visual analysis would be a relevant step in this direction.

Live bedside music for hospitalized older adults: A qualitative descriptive interview study.

Introduction: Hospitalization may have a major impact on older patients as it is often a period of psychosocial vulnerability. Music is one of the most described art forms used in healthcare. Applied in clinical settings, it can affect a patients' emotional and psychosocial well-being.

Personality traits differentially affect components of reproductive success in a Neotropical poison frog.

Individual reproductive success has several components, including the acquisition of mating partners, offspring production, and offspring survival until adulthood. While the effects of certain personality traits-such as boldness or aggressiveness-on single components of reproductive success are well studied, we know little about the composite and multifaceted effects behavioural traits can have on all the aspects of reproductive success. Behavioural traits positively linked to one component of reproductive success might not be beneficial for other components, and these effects may differ between sexes.

Facilitating collaborative professional development among instrumental and vocal teachers: A qualitative study with an Austrian Music School.

This case study provides an in-depth investigation in a professional development project about facilitating collaborative reflection. This was led by a research team from the university with 13 instrumental music teachers from one music school in Styria (Austria) during 2019-2021 (including the initial COVID-19 pandemic). Research questions considered (1) the participants' descriptions of the collaborative professional development, (2) participants' uses of reflection tools and indications of their identification with workshop interventions, as well as factors responsible for the outcomes from the reflection tools; and (3) ways participants' thinking and attitudes may have developed through the workshops, how they defined themselves as a group (if they did), and how they might have gained trust in one another.

Vocal Vibrato Characteristics in Historical and Contemporary Opera, Operetta, and Schlager.

Objectives/hypothesis: Vibrato is a core aesthetic element in singing. It varies considerably by both genre and era. Though studied extensively in Western classical singing over the years, there is a dearth of studies on vibrato in contemporary commercial music.

Interperformer coordination in piano-singing duo performances: phrase structure and empathy impact.

Musicians' body motion plays a fundamental role in ensemble playing, by supporting sound production, communication, and expressivity. This research investigates how Western classical musicians' head motion during ensemble performances relates to a piece's phrase structure and musicians' empathic perspective taking (EPT) profile. Twenty-four advanced piano and singing students took part in the study, and their EPT score was pre-assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index.

Living in a box: Understanding acoustic parameters in the NICU environment.

Background: In the last years, a significant body of scientific literature was dedicated to the noisy environment preterm-born infants experience during their admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Nonetheless, specific data on sound characteristics within and outside the incubator are missing. Therefore, this study aimed to shed light on noise level and sound characteristics within the incubator, considering the following domain: environmental noise, incubator handling, and respiratory support.

Regardless of personality, males show similar levels of plasticity in territory defense in a Neotropical poison frog.

Animal personality traits are sometimes linked to an individual's degree of plasticity, with certain personality types being more plastic than others. In territorial species, consistently high levels of aggression might increase the risk of harmful fights, while consistently low aggression might lead to the loss of a territory. Consequently, reacting plastically with an appropriate territorial response should be beneficial to avoid these risks.

Dynamic System Coupling in Voice Production.

Voice is a major means of communication for humans, non-human mammals and many other vertebrates like birds and anurans. The physical and physiological principles of voice production are described by two theories: the MyoElastic-AeroDynamic (MEAD) theory and the Source-Filter Theory (SFT). While MEAD employs a multiphysics approach to understand the motor control and dynamics of self-sustained vibration of vocal folds or analogous tissues, SFT predominantly uses acoustics to understand spectral changes of the source via linear propagation through the vocal tract.

The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test-Part II: A comprehensive method for playback device screening in Internet experiments.

HALT (The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test) Part II is a continuation of HALT Part I. The main goals of this study (HALT Part II) were (a) to develop screening tests and strategies to discriminate headphones from loudspeakers, (b) to come up with a methodological approach to combine more than two screening tests, and (c) to estimate data quality and required sample sizes for the application of screening tests. Screening Tests A and B were developed based on psychoacoustic effects.